I'm not sure why I first picked up Anders Parker's music. The first time I heard him was on a Space Needle album, but that's about as far from indicative of his sound as you could get. Perhaps it was the appeal of that disc, however, that led me to the debut of Parker's other band, Varnaline's 1996 album Man of Sin. The disc was appealing, but because it was essentially four-track demos, it didn't feel like the unadulterated voice of the artist. Not yet. That came soon enough, however, with the band's self-titled sophomore album and the contemporaneous A Shot and a Beer EP. From then on, it was clear that Parker was someone I was going to follow as long as he kept making music.

Varnaline kept cranking out good-to-great music through the '90s, capped by 2001's Songs in a Northern Key. After that, Parker transitioned to releasing music under his own name, and now has three solo LPs and an EP to go with the four Varnaline LPs and EP. All of it blends elements of alt-country, rock and folk, with Parker's expressive vocals and cinematic lyrics atop it all. His discography is rounded out by Death Songs for the Living, a collaboration with Jay Farrar under the name Gob Iron.

With that recap, we're up to the boldest move in Parker's career, Skyscraper Crow. The double album gathers two of four new collections of songs Parker has completed. He recorded a quiet folk album, an all-electronic album, an atmospheric instrumental guitar record and a full-band rock album. The Skyscraper part of the new album is the electronic album, the Crow part is the folk record. Together, the represent poles in Parker's sound. While Skyscraper is the most jarring, it is also the more interesting of the two. Anyone doubting Parker's songwriting chops need look no further, because despite the fact that he limited himself to sounds he could make on his laptop, the result is an organic, beautiful collection of songs. There are a couple that sound a bit forced because of those constraints, but by and large it is a collection of good Anders Parker songs that just happen to have been made on a computer.

Crow, on the other hand, is of a piece with much of his back catalog. Perhaps a bit quieter, but solid top to bottom.

The other two discs in this four-album burst of creativity await release. Parker says he hopes to release the instrumental album digitally sometime in early 2010, while there are no concrete plans for the other.

If you're a fan, you'll happily add these to your collection. If you're new to Parker, this might not be the best place to start, but you'll certainly find some gems that will hook you and lead you deeper into his catalog. Sample two of the new tracks below:

"72nd St. Horses" from Crow
"Calling Out to You" from Skyscraper

TIRBD: You've recorded four albums that all are very different from one another, and chose to release these two first. What was the thinking behind putting out a stark acoustic album and a wholly electronic record at the same time?

AP: The short answer is that I thought that they made interesting companions. They're different, but complimentary. I'd been meaning to do a very stripped down acoustic record for a long time, but circumstances were not ripe for working on that record in my old apartment in Queens, so I started fiddling around with various programs that I had on my computer and the seeds of Skyscraper were sown. Crow was written and recorded last of the four, and it was kind of way to wind down from all the work that preceded it, if that makes sense... low-tech and intimate after all sorts things that weren't.

I didn't really envision Skyscraper Crow as a sprawling Beatles White Album type of double record, but more as two extremes of things that I do. The tether between the two is my voice and songwriting.

Do you envision a similar pairing for the improv guitar instrumental album and the "rock band barn burner" record?

No. The so-called "band" record is on the shelf right now. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with it yet.

The instrumental guitar record is entitled Cross Latitudes. I'm releasing that as a digital download record via iTunes, Amazon, etc. soon. I may do a very limited run of hard copies next year.

I imagine you seeing these albums as the components of an exploded view of your sound. Is there any accuracy to that, in that these are the isolated components that comprise the whole found in your past work?

Yes, generally speaking I'd say that's accurate. If anything I'd say that these are even more distilled elements of things that I do. (Although Skyscraper doesn't really relate to anything that I've done before as far as using technology to that extent in the creating of the music.)

The idea for the parameters of the projects evolved as I was working on them. There's something about creating strict guidelines that can be freeing... Counterintuitive, but true, in my experience. The reduced possibilities forces you to be creative within the structure.

Was there a shift in your songwriting or recording process when you dropped the Varnaline name and started working under your own name?

I don't think there was a conscious shift in my songwriting... more of an evolution (hopefully!). The decision to drop the Varnaline name was more about the dissolving of the touring band and wanting to mark the change.

How has geography played a part in your music, particularly these new collections of songs?

Geography always plays a part in the songs I think. Consciously or unconsciously. And after I move to a new place I always seem to write a whole lot.

Are there things you'll take away from this process that will affect the way you make music from here on?

Well, I think the next project/album will be totally boundless... But I don't know what it's going to be. I'm just writing with no agenda right now. I wrote a lot this summer and in the past weeks I've been writing a lot again.

I think learning different recording programs that I used for Skyscraper will be helpful in the recording process. It's always good to have different tools. And each album is a learning experience unto itself.

Labels: Anders Parker, Monday Interview, music